Christina Hennessy

Published 4:45 pm, Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Christopher Kabala, a minister of music at Greenwich, Conn.'s Round Hill Community Church and an international performer, will give a piano recital at the church, 395 Round Hill Road, at 8 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. He is expected to explore "Contrasts," in a program that features Haydn, Schumann, Beethoven and others. Tickets are $25 ($5 for students). For reservations, call 203-869-1091 or visit www.roundhillcommunitychurch.org.
Photo: Contributed Photo

Christopher Kabala, a minister of music at Greenwich, Conn.'s Round...

The recital that pianist Christopher Kabala plans to present this week in Greenwich will have no lack of variation.

In fact, the title of the evening's performance rather succinctly describes the mood.

"Contrasts" will feature music by some of the greatest composers, including Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann and Chopin.

The event will take place on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Round Hill Community Church, where Kabala serves as minister of music. As a performer and teacher, his music has taken him throughout the United States, Mexico, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany.

For his performance in Greenwich, he said the audience will get a chance to hear the contrast between Haydn's shortest sonata and Beethoven's powerful "Waldstein Sonata," for instance.

From there, Schumann compositions inspired by childhood will be followed by Prokofiev's fiery Sonata No. 3, which was written during the 1917 Russian Revolution, that forced the composer from his home in what is now St. Petersburg to Caucasus, according to the program notes.

As so it will go from beginning to the end.

When asked whether such mood swings are difficult to convey in play, Kabala said it can be a challenge.

"But it's a lot fun and I hope it will be fun for the listeners," he said.

He plans to play "The Alcotts" movement from Charles Ives' "Concord Sonata," which was inspired by American transcendentalism and its first adherents who made their home in Concord, Mass.

"I hope (the audience) comes away enlivened by the whole experience," Kabala said. "These are great compositions. There is a tremendous amount of variety in the pieces that I am playing."